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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 7 page paper examines how racial discrimination, African-American culture and family life were depicted during the 1950s in August Wilson's Pulitzer prize-winning play, 'Fences.' The paper provides an overview of the entire play, but focuses primarily upon Act I. Bibliography lists 5 sources. Outline is included.
Page Count:
7 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_Fences2.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
the audience. Wilson recognizes that the family lies the foundation for American society as a whole, and shrewdly chooses family as the emphasis for "Fences." The plays central focus
is the Maxsons, the instrument Wilson uses to introduce African-American culture to those who are unfamiliar. In the mid-1950s, America was still experiencing a post-World War II economic boon,
and could at last allow foreign affairs to take a back seat to domestic issues. The social climate was becoming increasingly heated with the 1954 Supreme Court decision Brown
v. The Board of Education of Topeka which ruled school segregation was unconstitutional. This landmark ruling ignited racial tensions across America, which had been slowly simmering for years. The
protagonist of "Fences" is former baseball player-turned Pittsburgh garbage man Troy Maxson, and the antagonist is clearly racism. It is racism which has defied Troy Maxson at every turn
and his skin color stood in the way of his quest to grab a piece of the American dream for himself and his family. Racism creates the conflict which
causes Troy to feel that he has been "fenced" in by a discriminatory society. It has heated tensions within the Maxson home between Troy and his wife, Rose, and
Troy and his son Cory. August Wilson establishes an impression of the 53-year-old Troy Maxson early in Act I, writing that he is "a large man with
thick, heavy hands; it is this largeness that he strives to fill out and make an accommodation with. Together with his blackness, his largeness informs his sensibilities and the
choices he has made in his life... He can be crude and almost vulgar, though he is capable of rising to profound heights of expression" (1). The central
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